Is it Mardi Gras Yet?

      For some reason, I feel like blogging more than once a week is soon to become a rarity. I mean it's 1AM, and the only reason I'm up is because I had a stupid paper to write that I neglected to start until tonight. I've finished the paper though, so I guess I'm really awake because I have so much on my mind. I'll get to that later though. Let's see...I think I last posted on Friday, so let me give a recap of the weekend.
      This weekend was my first official study weekend of the semester. For me, study weekends usually consist of doing everything I possibly can to avoid studying...especially for a class like Physics. Saturday, I went with Melanie and Madeline for a run around the lakes. I was able to go a full eight miles, and when I was done, my foot didn't hurt! It's like a freaking miracle! I'm pretty sure tomorrow will be my last trip to the trainer, and then I'll be good to go for the less than four weeks of training left. Anyway, we decided to get a little studying done after that. At some point, we got a call from our friend Jacob Allen who was in dire need of a box. Long story short, we had to go and help him catch an escaped bunny that was hiding under a couch. If you know him, this doesn't surprise you at all. After that, me, Hannah, and Melanie decided to take a break to watch 50/50. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you watch it next time you're in the mood for something sad-but-in-a-funny-way. Admittedly it might not have been the best choice for us, but what can ya do? After the movie, we decided that the study break couldn't end quite yet, so we headed to Atomic Tattoo. For those of you who don't know, I have a tattoo, and that's where I got it. The place is really well run, and the people working there are professional (for the most part). I wish I could write that I turned Hannah and Melanie over to the dark side and got them inked up, but we walked away with just a new ear piercing for Hannah. Here it is!

This dude has braces...too young to be tatting and piercing.

      We decided to call it a night after that, and continue our studious behavior in the morning. 0:)

Sunday was full of more studying (and even more "studying"), and eventually we headed over to Brittany and Marisa's for some physics fun. I missed the Super Bowl, but seeing as how I don't like professional sports (it would be a stretch to call me a Saints fan), I could really care less who won or lost. I did watch the last thirty seconds thinking some amazing comeback was going to happen, but they totally let me down.

      Monday was the big day...my first exam of the semester. It wasn't until 6pm, so I had to endure a day of physical therapy, class, and work before I could get it over with. I found out today that it didn't go as well as I had hoped, but who cares? I've got to worry about the other three test and let that one go. Today ended up being one of those twelve hour school days that drain the life out of you. I mean really, it's just not right to spend 13 hours on campus a day when you don't live there. All I can say is that I'm glad it's officially Wednesday. Just two more days of class!

      Last night, this terribly awful Cheese Nip tragedy occurred. Check this out.

Hard to see, but notice the crackers are no longer living in their box.

Stewy was trying to move the box, but somehow it turned over and all of our crackers spilled out. We sat there half laughing, half crying while trying to clean up the mess. Well, I've come to the conclusion that my life is like a box of spilled Cheese Nips. Bear with me, people. No matter how hard I try to keep things right, there is always the chance that some outside force (such as a pillow) will come and mess up everything I've been working on. What are you supposed to do when something like that happens? All you can do is just pick up the pieces while you laugh and cry.

      When I said this semester would be my most challenging yet, I didn't know how much I would end up meaning that. Hell, we're not even a month in and I've considered locking myself in my apartment and never coming out multiple times. Not only is this the most academically challenging semester so far, it's time most emotionally challenging. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going around crying all day. I just catch myself thinking way too much and not dealing with it the right way. As Alex said earlier, we're getting to the age where people are expected to get engaged. Pressure!!! Being away at college does take some of that silly, irrational pressure off of us, but still! This is seriously just not something I want to be worrying about right now, and I really shouldn't be. And really, I don't know how much I'm actually worried about that. I think I'm just letting that have a place in my mind so I don't have to worry about other things. I guess it's just all connected to the immense unsureness I'm currently feeling. It's easy to tell myself to concentrate on school and the other things I can control, but it's much harder to actually do it. Let go and let God, right? But really, I'm fully aware that the pieces, good and bad, will all come together one day to form a picture that makes perfect sense. I'm just not patient enough to let this puzzle play out. Also, I've had the same dream every night for the last two weeks. Literally. I can't go into detail, but it's one of those things where you wake up so happy that it's true and then you're like...oh, wait, that'll probably never ever ever be true ever. Know what I mean? I need to go to a dream interpreter or something. Speaking of dreams, I think it's about that time. I promise my life is going to get interesting soon! I'll actually get a chance to breathe this weekend and see my family. If you know my parents and my sister's clan, you know a dull moment is hard to come by. Later!